The Warmest of Warmings

I hosted an apartment-warming party Friday night, and it was lovely entertaining some of my wonderful friends and coworkers. If you don’t already know this about me, I love a good theme party so I decided to take my guests on a culinary tour of my new Bed-Stuy neighborhood.

The curated menu featured:

Devilish eggs (E666s) from Do or Dine. My friend and coworker Cody said they were “life changing.” And she doesn’t even like deviled eggs. Chef Eric was so accommodating.

The Margherita pizza from Speedy Romeo. I broke my no-gluten rule a couple of weeks ago when I scarfed down half of The Dick Dale, a mouthwatering, finger-licking-good take on the Hawaiian variety. I knew I had to share the experience with everyone else.

Mini cupcakes in an array of sweet flavors including red velvet, salted chocolate caramel and vanilla from Brooklyn Baby Cakes, which is dangerously located across the street from me.

Dark n Stormies featuring locally homemade ginger beer from The Bush Doctor, a small gem of a juice bar nearby.

I think there were a good 25 people and two dogs in this apartment at full capacity. No spills or stains. Only one broken bottle. It was a successful party! I now have a fridge stocked full of leftover beer and wine so I’ll probably need to have another party to get rid of it. My friends are so generous and gifted me Harney & Sons tea (thanks, Jackie and Sia!), an old ladder repurposed as a plant stand (thanks, Tom!), a really cool printed storage box from Nigeria (thanks, JLaw!), Malin + Goetz cannabis candle and body wash (I can’t describe how amazing this stuff smells; thanks, Riki!) and a beautiful succulent that’s sitting perfectly on the new plant ladder (thanks, Mikey and Lilli!).

I’ve received requests from several people to post more apartment photos, so here’s a gallery. I’m completely obsessed with my Ryobi power drill. Needless to say I’ve been very busy decorating and hanging things. My design sense and tastes have definitely evolved over the years, but I feel pretty good about what I’ve done so far. There are often days when I second guess my decision to move given the higher costs and oftentimes lack of sleep due to the anxieties that come along with living alone, but when I hear people tell me that they love my apartment, it’s cute, I’ve done a great job, etc. I’m reminded that I made a smart decision.

In other news… I’m in the process of adopting a dachshund! More on that later. For now, here’s that gallery I mentioned >>

Front door and hallway featuring an Old World-style map.

Hallway, lucky horseshoe, view into the main living area

Kitchen details

Kitchen details featuring exposed dishes, pots and pans

Kitchen windowsill with new plant babies

One of two closets

“Bedroom” with newly hung silk lantern

“Living room” featuring new and gorgeous CB2 couch, reupholstered butterfly chair and more